Protected's recent activity
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Comment on Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, a week-long charity fundraiser featuring speedruns, is live (runs January 4 - January 10) in ~games
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Comment on Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show 2026 in Las Vegas, Lego's Smart Play system introduces new electronic components to the classic plastic blocks in ~hobbies
Protected LinkI would have loved this as a child. We built a bunch of wacky lego technic contraptions back then, always loved the wiring and engines.I would have loved this as a child. We built a bunch of wacky lego technic contraptions back then, always loved the wiring and engines.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Protected LinkI've been sick as hell and unable to do much, so what better way to spend my time than a nice roguelite? I spent 20+ hours this week playing Revita, courtesy of @kfwyre (whose mad translator...I've been sick as hell and unable to do much, so what better way to spend my time than a nice roguelite? I spent 20+ hours this week playing Revita, courtesy of @kfwyre (whose mad translator turned it into "To Live").
The game bills itself as a twin stick shooter, and takes place in a succession of fairly simple randomly generated monster-infested rooms of varying sizes (sometimes with doors or secret passages to special/NPC rooms). A typical run consists in 60 rooms divided in 5 areas/biomes, each with a boss fight at the end, plus a (harder) final boss. In that, as in many other ways, I would say Revita is similar to Dead Cells. It has progression based on unlocking items for future runs (at ever increasing costs), a variety of base weapon options, and daily challenges. In fact there are tons of unlockables beyond the many items that can appear in the run, including all manner of NPCs and rooms, gameplay extras, many cosmetics for the base area, wearable hats, etc. Revita runs are however pretty focused since it doesn't have Dead Cells' sprawling dungeons.
Besides shooting monsters and dashing for i-frames, the key mechanic in the game is health management. Dead enemies drop "souls", and the protagonist can "focus" to turn his soul bar into healing or - if your health is already full - quarter heart containers that can slowly make your health bar bigger. But items and upgrades during the run are paid for by taking either the protagonist's health or maximum health, so you need to strategize and determine whether it's more useful to get an item or keep your health. It works very well!
I've found Revita to be pretty well designed, addictive and enjoyable to play. The music and faux-16 bit graphics are also fine. Clearly a lot of work went into all of it. Unfortunately, the game never made it big and was eventually abandoned (put on hold?) by the developer before they were able to fully realize their vision for it. Players are advised to play the beta version, which is more advanced than the stable one (which I did). I would agree with some reviewers that not all items are well balanced; some are quite crap! Also, the control scheme on a gamepad feels unpleasant. I recommend playing on keyboard and mouse; there, it works very well.
Before that, I also played MotionRec! This charming puzzle platformer can be finished in 6 hours (good/completionist ending). You play a little robot making its way through an underground world. You can only ever do four things: Walk, jump a little, record your motion and replay your motion. Motion replaying isn't affected by gravity, so solving the puzzles in the game mainly entails recording tracks that you can suitably replay from a different starting point in order to avoid spikes, cross gaps, bypass killer lasers, collects keys, leverage teleporters, etc.
You progress through the game's world in a mostly linear fashion, but there are many secret area detours to find if you're attentive! These are instrumental to finding all the "musical note" collectibles of the game. At key points in the game, there are doors that only open if you have collected a certain minimum amount of musical notes.
During the game the graphics are entirely monochrome (black and white pixels) except for the temporary tracks when recording and replaying motion. At first they appear pretty basic, but some areas contain pretty complex graphical elements that do a great job of depicting a sprawling, bizarre, melancholic underground facility, long deserted except for malfunctioning computers. Some hidden areas contain downright beautiful vignettes as an additional reward for exploring. By the time I reached the end, the game had successfully conveyed a story entirely through its visuals.
If you enjoy puzzle solving and want something that's not overly difficult (except for a minority of the optional rooms), doesn't take too many hours to complete, and isn't too expensive, you might want to give this one a try.
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Comment on Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, a week-long charity fundraiser featuring speedruns, is live (runs January 4 - January 10) in ~games
Protected LinkSo far Bat to the Heavens was quite fun to watch, I'm not sure I would have wanted to play it myself since it feels a bit like speedrunner bait but I love me a good indie game with unique...So far Bat to the Heavens was quite fun to watch, I'm not sure I would have wanted to play it myself since it feels a bit like speedrunner bait but I love me a good indie game with unique mechanics. The SMW runs were also great.
Looking forward to Cavern of Dreams today - Steam says players like me love that game - Jazzpunk and (it's been a while) A Hat In Time.
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Comment on The 2025 Steam Awards in ~games
Protected LinkIn previous years I have disliked the outcome of the Steam Awards, but these are actually very reasonable.In previous years I have disliked the outcome of the Steam Awards, but these are actually very reasonable.
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Comment on What video games would you say have the best stories? Feel free to suggest more than one. in ~games
Protected Link ParentNo problem, I hope you get to play it someday! Or the remake!No problem, I hope you get to play it someday! Or the remake!
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Comment on What video games would you say have the best stories? Feel free to suggest more than one. in ~games
Protected Link ParentI wasn't accusing you of anything, just saying that there's (I've observed) a lot of disdain for FF7 out there these days.I wasn't accusing you of anything, just saying that there's (I've observed) a lot of disdain for FF7 out there these days.
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Comment on Grok AI generates images of ‘minors in minimal clothing’ in ~tech
Protected Link ParentYes, that's what I meant. Each kid doesn't have to figure it out individually, but kids collectively are absolutely capable of figuring it out and helping each other. And many kids love to be in...Yes, that's what I meant. Each kid doesn't have to figure it out individually, but kids collectively are absolutely capable of figuring it out and helping each other. And many kids love to be in adult spaces just because they're not supposed to.
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Comment on Grok AI generates images of ‘minors in minimal clothing’ in ~tech
Protected Link ParentYeah, I don't think we'll see that kind of solution because kids would break it pretty much immediately. Speaking as someone who started programming at 8 before the Internet was even a thing (no...Yeah, I don't think we'll see that kind of solution because kids would break it pretty much immediately. Speaking as someone who started programming at 8 before the Internet was even a thing (no stack overflow much less vibe coding!)
But I agree with you there. Increasingly more, companies are just using invasive third party age verification processors and that's very much a worst of both worlds scenario. I think ideally age verification should function like third party authentication protocols, wherein the client, service provider and authentication provider exchange short lived tokens in a triangle, except the "age provider" should be the government. In the EU the government already knows who everyone is, so no additional trust is required. Let's see how the solution they are purportedly working on ends up functioning.
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Comment on What video games would you say have the best stories? Feel free to suggest more than one. in ~games
Protected Link ParentI have played both, and to me FF7 is the pinnacle. I'll take the risk of annoying the FF6 purists too :) When FF7 came out it was just mind blowing. It was an absolutely massive game set in a...I haven't played Final Famtasy 7
I have played both, and to me FF7 is the pinnacle. I'll take the risk of annoying the FF6 purists too :)
When FF7 came out it was just mind blowing. It was an absolutely massive game set in a massive open world that could (for the first time) be experienced "high resolution" (up to 640x480 on the PC version) 3D with beautiful prerendered sets illustrating all sorts of locations. The music was so damn good, it lives rent-free in the minds of millions of people from that generation, even though it was generated by MIDI chips. Technologically, the one significant drawback this generation has when compared to FFX is the lack of voice acting ("Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!") Also even for big productions, budgets were much more modest than they are these days, and it shows here and there, although not as much as in, say, Xenogears.
The story they chose to go with all of this was excellent - and, best of all, it has absolutely stood the test of time. The science fiction core of it is decent - the hostile alien invader biding its time just like in Pandora's Star. But the massive, monopolistic corporation sneakily taking the reins of power, sucking the planet's resources dry, always acting with callous indifference and a myopic lack of ethical compass, up to the point where millions of people die? The well intentioned but misguided eco-terrorists? The manipulation of public opinion through propaganda? The grunts who have a human side but do horrible things in the name of "just following orders," and the one who choses a different path (I'm being vague because spoilers)? All of it is still one hundred percent relevant today. The original game's story just holds up.
These days it's cool to be disdainful of FF7 because it's a victim of when it came out. Its very early 3D now looks to us very goofy and ugly (I personally tend to dislike early 3D in general). In a world of cinematic-grade games, its budget limitations are now painfully obvious - a horrible english translation, bad animation, etc. But that's a modern, unfair judgment of a 90s videogame, in my opinion. It's why I've been quite happy that it's being remade with a fantastic budget and fantastic quality, even though Tetsuya Nomura sneaked in some unnecessary Kingdom-Hearts-ness that wasn't in the original.
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Comment on Grok AI generates images of ‘minors in minimal clothing’ in ~tech
Protected Link ParentThere are proposals like chatcontrol (all data is required to be sent to the government prior to encryption), which I'm sure you knew was where I was getting - since they're my own primary...there's not a whole lot that they can do
There are proposals like chatcontrol (all data is required to be sent to the government prior to encryption), which I'm sure you knew was where I was getting - since they're my own primary concern. But even though nothing is more of a zoo than the internet as a whole, I can frame the same question in a myriad ways that don't require accounting for lack of access to users' data, for example:
Should Google be held responsible/liable if some rando uses Maps to plan a terrorist attack, or let's say a jewel heist in a famous parisian museum? Can they reliably tell something is off about the user's behavior patterns, if they put in enough effort?
Note that I accept that it's perfectly possible your answer(s) would be yes, and I'll respect that. Especially when it comes to CSAM, it's a strongly unifying issue - there's a reason why it's a go-to for lawmakers attempting to erode privacy protections. But there's a lot of good that comes out of having carrier neutrality too.
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Comment on Grok AI generates images of ‘minors in minimal clothing’ in ~tech
Protected Link ParentShould my ISP be responsible for the actions of its customers (when using the internet)? Why/why not?Should my ISP be responsible for the actions of its customers (when using the internet)? Why/why not?
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Comment on Grok AI generates images of ‘minors in minimal clothing’ in ~tech
Protected LinkI don't like Musk and I've long defended that company owners and C-suite executives (depending on what exactly is being discussed) should be held more responsible for a company's output and its...I don't like Musk and I've long defended that company owners and C-suite executives (depending on what exactly is being discussed) should be held more responsible for a company's output and its impact in society.
What worries me, though is whether regulating what can and can't be done with AI in this manner is legally consistent. Several big AI models and software are available for free and anyone can run them in a decently powerful home setup (I've done this myself, though I don't currently have anything installed). When some idiot produces one of these images at home, who is responsible? A bunch of open source software maintainers who wrote some python for free? I don't think so. Probably the legal responsability belongs to the creator and/or distributor of the image, unless we were to decide that the whole training a model by infringing on other people's copyright shouldn't be allowed in the first place, which isn't going to happen because laws don't apply to the billionnaires with a vested interest in perpetuating these technologies and everyone else is already addicted to AI.
But then said AI service owners, who can hire expensive lawyers, might argue that their products are general purpose products trained on everything, that anyone can use to produce anything, and that it's ultimately not technologically feasible to perfectly prevent unsavory output. In much the same way that we already have all kinds of neutral carrier protections for all manner of services and infrastructure, isn't it likely that we'll end up seeing the same sort of thing for AI services?
Worse, if the opposite happens - if this results in neutral carrier protections crumbling in other areas - is that something we want?
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Comment on Buying a lotta RAM now, as an investment ... thoughts? in ~tech
Protected Link ParentThis doesn't read like you're discussing this with me, it reads like you're responding to arguments you read elsewhere. Sentiment? Right. Say you're a TV manufacturer. You wish to manufacture and...The idea that consumers in this counterfactual would be like “oh, SK was so nice to me in the AI RAM shortage incident so I’ll spend more for worse RAM to thank them” is laughable.
This doesn't read like you're discussing this with me, it reads like you're responding to arguments you read elsewhere. Sentiment?
you set a minimum floor for acceptable performance and then sort by ascending price.
Right. Say you're a TV manufacturer. You wish to manufacture and sell TVs. If you don't manufacture TVs, you can't bring in any revenue. Your TV requires RAM, and you have the following choices: The supplier who will sell you what you want for 10X, where X is what you paid last year, and the one who'll suggest something that performs worse for 0.5X .
Most consumers, as you have implied, are not experts. They aren't going to care if you (the manufacturer) lower your standards. They want to not have to wait a year for their TV as long as it works at all. Can the TV that has to be much more expensive in order to make up for the scarcity of a key component in it truly compete (in the consumer market) against the much, much cheaper one? They both show movies.
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Comment on Buying a lotta RAM now, as an investment ... thoughts? in ~tech
Protected Link ParentIt's short sighted to shaft the entire consumer electronics market in order to make short term profit from a bubble. There's a balance here, a tipping point where the (currently) inferior chinese...It's short sighted to shaft the entire consumer electronics market in order to make short term profit from a bubble. There's a balance here, a tipping point where the (currently) inferior chinese products will become a worthwhile tradeoff to a lot of businesses, which may have long term negative repercussions on the incumbents.
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Comment on Buying a lotta RAM now, as an investment ... thoughts? in ~tech
Protected Link ParentIndeed, but there are powerful forces invested in keeping this whole ball rolling. In the unlikely event that - for whatever reason - no ramping up of RAM production capacity is necessary in the...Indeed, but there are powerful forces invested in keeping this whole ball rolling. In the unlikely event that - for whatever reason - no ramping up of RAM production capacity is necessary in the next couple years, which I find unlikely (despite hoping for the bubble to burst sooner rather than later myself) - that will mean demand has fallen off a cliff, which will mean investing in RAM as a private individual is still a bad idea.
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Comment on Buying a lotta RAM now, as an investment ... thoughts? in ~tech
Protected LinkThis is a very time limited situation caused by short-sightedness*, greed and the AI bubble. Three years from now, if the current incumbents haven't gotten their shit together I'd wager China will...This is a very time limited situation caused by short-sightedness*, greed and the AI bubble. Three years from now, if the current incumbents haven't gotten their shit together I'd wager China will already have entered and stolen away this market, providing enough supply to normalize prices. There's a clear, persistent, global demand after all, which means there is money to be made on the production side of things.
* If RAM scarcity limits people's ability to afford electronic devices, including computers, phones, cars, TVs, etc. this would ultimately impact access to AI too... They can't beam the chatgpt directly into people's brains.
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Comment on Jet Lag Season 16: Hide + Seek United Kingdom | Trailer in ~hobbies
Protected LinkEp. 3 (Nebula) Sam is absolutely right, I would have been dismayed if he hadn't thought of duplicating the 10 minute bonus. I figured he was too set on duplicating the curse instead. That said,...Ep. 3 (Nebula)
Sam is absolutely right, I would have been dismayed if he hadn't thought of duplicating the 10 minute bonus. I figured he was too set on duplicating the curse instead.
That said, it's unfortunate that he couldn't duplicate the curse! Forcing the seekers to pass by Milton Keynes again would have been the ultimate Jet Lag troll.
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Comment on Anime: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~anime
Protected Link ParentI liked the character whose superpower is high budget CGI. Quite the flex.mixing multiple styles even within the same episode
I liked the character whose superpower is high budget CGI. Quite the flex.
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Comment on Anime: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~anime
Protected Link ParentI can confirm that I loved it! It's my cup of tea. I'd love a full length Milky Subway too. I'll look into the others, thanks.Apocolypse Hotel is a good original series this year
I can confirm that I loved it! It's my cup of tea. I'd love a full length Milky Subway too.
I'll look into the others, thanks.
Bunch of good stuff since yesterday. As an enjoyer of the rhythm games, I liked the Hatsune Miku Fitness Boxing showcase. Really made me want to go Beat Saber, which has not been possible due to my cough. Also loved Mario Kart World, even though I have no interest in the game itself - the runner was a very cheerful person who clearly enjoys what she does, and the category idea (hit all question marks) which she routed herself was surprisingly compelling.
Small Saga today was an unexpected gem. Even with the runner speeding through the dialogue everyone watching could tell the game has a lot of character and is a lot of fun. I also had fun semi-watching Argick's Lylat Wars (Star Fox 64) run.
Tonight we have Psychonauts 2 and for the first time (though unfortunately too late for an european) Silent Hill f! Also a bunch of other big name stuff that will surely be of interest to viewers other than myself. Really good lineup.